1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to assemblies used to coat articles of manufacture. More specifically, the invention relates to a coating assembly that accurately paints a portion of articles of manufacture.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is quite common for articles of manufacture to be coated with a material. These coatings may be decorative. In many instances, these coatings are required to ensure the long life of the article being manufactured. The coatings may provide enhanced frictional properties that will reduce the wear of a particular article. Other coatings prevent the surface of the article from reacting to elements in the environment in which the article is placed. These reactions tend to be considered corrosive in nature, e.g., oxidation.
Some articles are designed such that they require multiple coatings over different portions thereof. One such article is a ball stud, typically used in the manufacture of automobiles and other machinery. The ball stud includes a steel ball with a threaded stud extending out therefrom. In many applications, the ball is going to be surrounded by a lubricant and does not require additional coatings to protect it. The stud portion of the ball stud is not, however, exposed to the lubricants. This portion of the article will require coatings to prevent the corrosion thereof. Currently, the practice of coating the stud portion of the ball stud is done through a dip spinning process. In this process, the ball studs are lowered into a bath and then spun to remove the excess material off the stud. This process is inferior because it requires a large amount of coating material to produce the coated articles. Additionally, the coating on the article, in this case, the stud, is thicker than it needs to be. This results in excess costs associated with increased material consumption, as well as decreased tolerances in the finished product. And finally, the dip spin process is an inaccurate process in that portions of the coating material splatter up onto the ball portion of the ball stud. This splatter detracts from the performance of the ball stud creating the necessity for increased man hours to clean the ball studs once they have been coated.